Never Forever
by xoxcrescentmoonxox
Summary: Young love is radient while it lasts, but forever is elusive, and schoolday couples rarely survive. Formerly titled Days Gone By. Current: Cedric and Cho.
1. Lavender and Ron

**Written for Kore-of-Myth's Shuffle challenge on HPFC. Basically, turn your music player on and, for each song you hear, write a short drabble based off of it. As part of the challenge is not having to edit, these are a little rough. **

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"**Fearless" – Taylor Swift**

Ron flops onto his bed, completely content. He gazes up at the ceiling, trying to describe the moment to Harry.

"We were just working on Divination homework, y'know? And I was making her laugh with my predictions of horrible doom, and she was smiling at me with those beautiful white teeth, and twisting her hands through her hair, and I could tell she was just . . . in the moment.

"Well, anyway, we were inching closer to each other 'till our arms were touching, then our legs, and I just wanted to kiss her, and so . . . I did." Ron smiles. "And then she did this thing where she slid her hand to the back of my head and pulled me to her, and . . . wow. Could this get any better?"

Ron runs his finger over his mouth, tentatively touching his lips as he continues trying to explain the moment. "It's not that it was without awkwardness, Harry, because there definitely was, at least for me. But beyond that, underneath that bumbling oaf Ron that's all anyone can see, tonight I was just . . . completely fearless.

"Lavender brings out that feeling in me, Harry. And I can't wait to feel it again."

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"**Crushcrushcrush" – Paramore**

Hermione furiously stabs her quill into the ink, splattering some onto her previously neat essay, as she tries to avoid looking in the corner where Ron and Lavender are off snogging.

"Sorry, guys," he mumbles a few minutes later, having seen Lavender safely out of the portrait hole. Harry glances cautiously from Hermione, lips pursed and chin jutted out, to Ron, slightly red faced, but trying to hide a grin.

Hermione sees Harry's glance and rolls her eyes. "_Honestly_, Ron, can't you –" _do that to me instead_ – "do that _slightly _privately?"

He looks at her, and suddenly a lump rises in her throat. "I'm going upstairs," she snaps, slamming her book shut.

_Will we ever be more than this?_

* * *

"**Take That Look Off Your Face"** **- Andrew Lloyd Webber**

_It's not love. They don't have that,_ thinks Hermione frantically. _I'd just believe it more if it wasn't for Ron's face._

He's over there with _her_, grinning goofily, and she wishes she could slap that expression away. Instead, she squeezes her eyes tight shut.

_I can see right through you, Ronald Weasley, _she thinks. _You don't love her, you can't._

_Because then you wouldn't love me._

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"**You Belong With Me" – Taylor Swift**

"But Won-Won, it's adorable!" squeals Lavender, fastening the "my sweetheart" necklace around his collar for the umpteenth time.

"Lavender, please," he groans wearily, pushing her hands away.

She makes a pouty face, and Hermione can't stand to watch anymore. After all, how can someone like her compete with someone like Lavender? Lavender is beautiful, while Hermione is intelligent. Lavender has long, silky hair. Hermione's resembles a bush. Lavender is flirtatious. Hermione is a know it all.

Hermione sighs. A guy like Ron would take a girl like Lavender over her any day. Sure, she and Ron can be themselves around each other, but that's not enough. Not for him, anyway. Until it is, all she can do is dream about the day when he wakes up and finds that what he's been looking for has been here the whole time.

She knows he will eventually. After all, despite her many faults, she has one advantage: she's the one who really understands him.

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"**Stay Beautiful" – Taylor Swift**

Ron and Hermione are together now. Lavender sees them sometimes from her apartment window, walking down the road together as they go to work.

She doesn't love him. But he's so handsome and funny, and all the things that drove her crazy when they were dating now just make her skin tingle with wanting him.

He's going to be someone in a few years. People will look up to him, want to be like him.

She'll just want to be with him.

Lavender knows that he's not her's anymore, that he never was. But still, her heart leaps every time the doorbell rings in the afternoon, and always, she hopes it's him, dropping in to see how an old flame's doing.

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**So, what have I learned from this challenge? That I probably listen to far too much Taylor Swift!!! But, anyway, if you've read this far, I'd love it if you'd take a couple seconds to leave me a quick review.**

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	2. Angelina and Fred

**Well, I attempted my first "smut" (ish) scene here ... and I laughed at its awkwardness. Hope you guys enjoy, though!**

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Honey Honey – Abba

"Fred," she whispers. "Fred, touch me. Kiss me. Want me."

She can just see the outline of his teeth in the dark as he grins at her. "Why Angie, are you sure? I've heard talking is a pretty swell thing to do on nights like this."

Laughing, she throws herself onto him, twining her fingers through his hair. "Oh, you! Just hold me, you . . . you beast."

"Mm, beast. I like that." He growls and pulls her closer to him; Angelina lets out a muffled shriek.

"You're gonna kill me!" she gasps, holding her heart in mock terror.

"Oh, you know what they say about Fred Weasley," he says, chuckling.

"No. Show me."

"Well, only if you insist . . . "

**

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In His Eyes – Andrew Lloyd Webber

Angelina stares out the window of her dormitory. Rain courses down the pane, just as tears course down her face.

_Fred. Fred. Fred. _His name pulses through her thoughts, through her entire being. Yesterday they fought. Today she avoided him. And Godric, how she wishes she hadn't! Everything was all wrong, and she just wanted to curl up in his arms, cry on his shoulder.

Somehow when she's with him, she never dwells on the bad, even the indifferent. The instant he looks at her, she's warm everywhere and in a good mood. That's one of the things she loves about him.

When he looks at her, everything she wants is reflected back at her. His eyes are so deep and brown, so full of hope and promise. But most of all, there's the love that's always there when he gazes at her.

Even today. She knows she should have stayed away, allowed herself to cool down, but one sidelong glance from Fred and she was his again.

_Love is worth forgiving for_, Angelina realizes. _And there's so much worth living for there in his eyes._

Slowly she stands up and walks to the door towards the common room. She wants to live again.

**

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Graduation – Vitamin C

The day of graduation for the seventh years is strained. Voldemort is known to be back now, and so many families have left already. Angelina notices all this, but she can't focus on the world outside her because she's trying so hard not to lose any time left in _this _world, her school that she's grown to love so much.

It's been lonely this year. Fred left halfway through, and Umbridge controlled the school. Alicia has been distant too, frightened by the many warnings of her parents, both high ranking Ministry officials. Most of the rest of the girls in her year have already gone.

Still, she holds onto the memories of semesters past. Of Quidditch practices and feasts, late night rendezvous' and early morning classes. She remembers all the times she and Fred would sneak out to the Quidditch pitch, when she and Katie would play pranks on Lee and the twins in an attempt at retaliation, and she wonders how she'll be able to face the real world without all of them.

Angelina just wants them to all remember her and all the times they've had together. She sighs. If only they could always be friends. Forever.

**

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Tattoo – Jordin Sparks

"Is this right?" Angelina whispers into the night. She knows that wherever Fred is now, he can hear her. "Is it okay for me to be with George; is it okay for me to love George?"

He doesn't answer, he never does. "Fred, I remember something you told me: To live every second like it was my last one. I guess you wouldn't want me to wait for my last second just so I could be with you, so . . . maybe you wouldn't mind?"

Angelina wishes he would talk back to her, but she's been left alone here to muddle through as best she can.

"I think I know what your answer would be, Fred. Thank you. I'll never regret anything we had, not ever. It was special. But I have a new direction now. I need your help to get there, Fred, we all do. But . . . I'm okay. Will be okay, at least. After all, I have you in my heart helping me. I'll always have you.

**

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Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again – Phantom of the Opera

Every May the second, Angelina visits Fred. It's sort of weird, because both she and George do that, but they never go together.

It's been twenty three years, but the ache of losing him never disappears. Sometimes she can feel him with her, talking to her on bad days and helping her through, and for that she's grateful. But other times she wishes she could forget, just be happy with George.

Always, she knows she would trade everything she has now for what she had during her years at Hogwarts. But after all this time, all these years fighting back tears, she knows she'll always carry him with her, branded onto her heart.

"Help me," she whispers up to the clouds, same as she does every year. "Help me say goodbye."

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Remember, reviews are love, and love is a wonderful thing =)**

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	3. Ginny and Dean

**Suddenly I See – KT Turnstall**

Dean looks up from his homework and sees Ginny across the common room, hair shining in the firelight as she tosses her head and laughs. Once he's watching her, he can't look away – the glow of her teeth, the joy in her laugh – he's captivated.

She runs her hand through her hair and flips it over her shoulder, then turns to him and catches his eye. With a quick smile – he hopes he wasn't imagining it – she turns back to Hermione.

He's beginning to see that she means a lot to him.

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**Tell Me Why – Taylor Swift**

Arms loosely around each other, Ginny and Dean walk down the hallway together. They're laughing, and she feels utterly beautiful, and everything's perfect ... and then _he_ walks by. Harry.

Ginny freezes inside. Her breath comes in short gasps, and her heart flutters as he glances at her while he walks by. She continues, and he continues, but her heart isn't with Dean anymore.

She doesn't understand why she still wants him, how a girlish crush has evolved into ... this. This feeling that doesn't leave.

Ginny wonders if he knows the effect he has on her – if he does, she wishes that he would only tell her _why._

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**Hot N Cold – Katy Perry**

Ginny huffs angrily at him, stomping in a circle before turning back to face him. _What did I do this time?_ Dean wonders, fondly exasperated. He misses the days when they'd walk together in the halls, his arm resting on her waist as they laughed together. When they'd sit together in the Great Hall and hold hands under the table, then steal away after dinner to sit by the lake and kiss.

"I _told_ you, I can't go with you tonight, I have to finish my Arithmacy paper." _Arithmacy?_ Dean thinks. _That's what she's mad at me about?_

"Fine," he tells her. "I have Transfiguration to do anyway."

They sit at opposite ends of the squashy couch, her feet stretching toward him as they work. "Dean?" she asks, tilting her head endearingly at him. "I still have tomorrow to work on this, so can we do something else today?"

He puts down his quill, unable to say no to her. "And what, pray tell, might you have in mind?"

She tucks her legs chastely underneath her as she leans into him. "Something like this."

He really doesn't want to say no to her ... and so he doesn't. Glad to be back in agreement, Dean wraps his arms around her, thankful for the deserted common room as they move together; as yes meets no – and compromises with it.

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**The Way I Loved You – Taylor Swift**

Ginny glares at Dean. "Dammit, just give me space, will you? You're always _there_, hovering over me, trying to make me see clearly ... and – and you're so perfect, and I'm – I'm not." Tears slide down her cheeks, mingling with the rain. Her hair is matted in long rattails down her back and across her face.

"Gin. Ginny, listen to me!" He shivers audibly and glances towards the castle. "Come back in with me? Talk things over?"

She shakes her head. "What happened, Dean? Where'd the magic go?"

He breathes in deeply. "I miss it too, Gin."

They stand there together for a couple seconds, each silent, afraid of what might break if they speak. Then, tentatively, Ginny steps forward and places her hands on his chest. She leans her head up and kisses him.

The magic's back for this moment. He lifts her up and swings her around as she wraps her legs around his waist, laughing as she leans into him again. This is the way she loves him.

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**Christmases When You Were Mine – Taylor Swift**

Dean watches her from across the room at the Ministry party. Her stomach is a little swollen with pregnancy, and her hand rests on it as she turns to Harry, pointing at some sort of food on a silver platter and laughing.

They've been apart for years, and it hasn't hurt – she's moved on, and so has he. But he's never seen her like this, so radiant. Not since his sixth year when they were dating. They'd spent so much of the holiday together, getting to know each other. They'd run through the castle, screaming and laughing as they careened into walls, into each other. He would pull her into secluded corners and just _kiss_ her, and she'd bite her lip and smile at him as they peered around to make sure no one was watching.

His nostalgia is interrupted when Dennis from the Law Enforcement Department comes over to him. "Happy Christmas, Thomas," Dennis says, clapping him on the shoulder.

Dean swallows hard. "Happy Christmas, Creevey," he replies, heart miles away in the snow covered castle. It'll have to be something he just says this year.

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**A/N: I'm not sure if I stayed entirely canon with the last one - I don't remember if the Weasleys stayed at Howgwarts over the holidays, and I don't remember if Ginny and Dean were still together at that point. Gah, now I feel bad that I didn't look it up ... **

**Well, anyway, hope you enjoyed! Hit the button! (You know which one I mean. It's big, green, and beautiful =D )**


	4. Hannah and Ernie

**_Hannah and Ernie_**

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**Candle on the Water—Pete's Dragon**

Hannah never mentions to Ernie how much she likes music. Not the loud, screaming kind like the Weird Sisters or the operatic howling of Celestia Warbeck, but soft, gentle music that flows over her like rain.

She knows Ernie will never understand. He is a man of facts and figures, and she respects him for that – yes, she does. But there are times when she's strayed to the greenhouses to speak with her Head of House that she hears Neville humming absentmindly as he works. That is the kind of tune she likes. Hannah wonders what it would be like with someone like him, who is soft and gentle and could understand why she likes beautiful songs.

Her fondness for Ernie is steady, and she appreciates that. But the feelings she has for the music; by association, Neville, is like the impossible paradox of a candle on the water. It would seem that the candle would overturn and be extinguished in the water. But this flame inside of her is only growing.

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**Place In This World—Taylor Swift**

Hannah is alone.

(But Ernie comes up to her and holds her, and she feels loved.)

Hannah is unimportant compared to her siblings.

(But Ernie looks at her like she's the sun.)

Hannah has to stay strong.

(But Ernie holds her tight, and suddenly she is able to fall apart and let him pick up the pieces.)

Hannah is wrong.

(But Ernie shakes his head and convinces her that somehow, in some small way, she is right.)

Hannah has to make her way through life alone.

(But Ernie takes her hand, and she realizes she was wrong.)

Hannah has to find her place in this world.

(But Ernie can do nothing to help with that.)

Hannah doesn't know what to do.

(She'll never tell him that.)

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**Breakaway—Kelly Clarkson**

When Hannah was younger, she only wanted to go away to Hogwarts. Her brother had gone before her, and her sister before him. She wanted to be different that the intelligent Ravenclaw, the strong Gryffindor. So when she was put in Hufflepuff, she was ecstatic.

She was able to finally spread her wings and learn how to fly, to do what it took until she touched the sky.

It was in her fourth year that Ernie began looking at her differently. He was nothing like her brother; nothing like her sister's boyfriends, and so she felt like, yet again, she was soaring away from her sibling's legacy when she began seeing him.

It was nice to be able to make that change and breakaway.

Two years from then, her mother died. She, her brother, and her sister were reunited again, and suddenly, Hannah realized her mistake. She had tried to be different, so that they would all see her.

She came out of the darkness and into the sun.

See, her family, they saw her anyway. She'd made a wish, took a chance, made a change—and made her way right back to them. And when Hannah told him, Ernie understood. He was, after all, a man of facts and figures, and all the facts pointed to one key thing:

She had to tell him goodbye, and make her way back to them.

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**Our Last Night—Better Than Ezra**

Hannah is with Neville on May first, nineteen ninety eight. She has snuck to the Room of Requirement and there those two, Terry, Michael, Anthony, Parvati, Padma, Seamus, Ernie, Susan, Ginny, and the rest of the DA sit on squashy chairs, in a room that has lit itself only by candlelight.

She is across Neville's lap, head on his shoulder, feeling safe in his strong hold. Terry, Michael, and Tony sprawl over a couch; although, she notices from the corner of her eye, the first is peering at Padma every so often. Susan, is in a beanbag chair near to Ernie, and Seamus is tickling Parvati, laughing as she squeals and tries to bat him away. Ginny is as distant as she's been all year, off standing in a shadowy corner. She's listening though, and laughs when someone brings up a lighthearted story from years past.

That is how they all go to sleep. Hannah wakes up with him, and is near when Harry, Ron, and Hermione come rushing through the portrait hole.

Then she waits as he goes away to become a hero. She prays that the angels will stay in the heavens tonight, and let their group prosper again.

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**I Will Always Love You—Dolly Pardon**

It's best for both of them that things ended when they did, Ernie tells himself. He thinks of her often, the way she used to be. Her soft curves, the way she'd bite her lip when she was thinking hard. Her one strand of hair that would always flop over and part of the wrong side. How he could tell when she was irritated because her whole face would harden, and how he could tell when she was violently happy, because then she would laugh for minutes at a time as she tried to force out the words of why she was laughing.

But the Hannah of the Leaky Cauldron is nothing like the girl he knew. She laughs with all of her customers, and she wears her hair in a loose bun. When she leans over to clean a table, she doesn't seem to care which of the tipsy young men behind her peer a little closer at her rear.

Sometimes, Ernie thinks he's seeing these changes, these faults, because she is not his anymore. When she laughs, it's not something private between him and her; the whole bar is caught up in her infectious smile. When her hair is back, her fault is hidden from everyone but her husband, who is not Ernie. When other men notice her curves, it means that she is not just Ernie's, but the entire taverns, and he is no better than any of them.

He has one advantage over the rest, however. He has always loved her, and will always loved her. The rest of them; they will forget her as she grows old. But Ernie will think of her each step of the way.

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**A/N: **I've started loving both Ernie and Hannah! Hopefully, you guys all did too =)


	5. Penelope and Percy

**_Penelope Clearwater and Percy Weasley_**

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**I'm Gonna Love You—Jennifer Love Hewitt**

She's a fairy of a girl when she prances up to the Sorting Hat, with a cloud of dark blonde curls and a lovely, delicate face. Percy follows her with his eyes, wilting inside when the Hat proclaims, "RAVENCLAW!"

But as she turns to her table, their eyes catch for a second. Percy feels a curious jump in his throat, and all of a sudden the Great Hall comes into shocking perspective with brighter colors, sharper contrasts, clearer noises.

Most of all, Penelope Clearwater comes into shocking perspective. With this new look at the world, Percy feels like he was blind seconds ago—but now she's helped him see.

-

In third year, Flitwick partners them for Charms class.

"Like this," she tells him, carefully repositioning his fingers on the wand. Percy can feel the heat of her hand on his, and the ends of her hair just brush against his arm.

"Thanks," he says, raising his wand and turning to glance at her. She smiles at him, and he sees her differently. He sees her, not as Penelope Clearwater who is beautiful, intelligent, and has a froth of curls he wants to run his fingers through, but Penelope Clearwater who he wants to be a part of.

Yes, one day at least, Percy is going to love her.

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**Leave Out All the Rest—Linkin Park**

"'Nelope?" Percy asks softly as she returns from directing the new first years to their prefects. She slips her hand into his and looks at his questioningly.

"If I was gone from here—if I suddenly disappeared, you would care. Wouldn't you?"

Penelope looks taken aback. "You know I would, Percy." She leans up and kisses the corner of his mouth. "So would a lot of people."

He laughs; a bitter, cynical sound that she's never heard from him before. "Look at those kids—already laughing at the geeky Head Boy. Ron glares at me whenever I try to tell him something in public; even Harry tries to get away. And the twins just got done telling that young Creevey boy that when I was five, I wet the bet every night."

Penelope can't hide her smile, and Percy hastily adds, "Of course, they were lying." He pauses. "I'm not leaving behind any reasons to be missed, not now. Not ever. So just . . . no one can save me from myself. I'm not like you, and not like them. I can't be who they are. Or even who they'd like me to be."

"Percy . . ." Penelope glances fugitively around them for any of their stray charges, then kisses him right on the mouth. "You're exactly who _I'd_ like you to be. So if you're asking me, I want you to know . . .

"You're perfect the way you are."

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**You'll Be in My Heart—Phil Collins**

"'Nelly . . ."

She can't look at him. "Please, Percy. Don't make this any harder for me."

"I don't understand why you're doing this." He struggles to breathe; struggles to accept that she's telling him she wants to break up.

"Percy, it's not you. It's the Ministry, and you're supporting them, and I'm joining the Order. How can I be with you, and them?"

"Because you love me," he whispers.

"Oh, Perce. Destiny called me, and, please, I have to be strong even when I'm not with you; please hold on. I can't worry about you too." Penelope bites her lip and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, even as Percy reaches forward to push that same strand back.

"Sorry," he mutters, dropping his hand back to his lap. Their eyes meet for the first time.

"Don't listen to the Ministry. What do they know?" Penelope asks, intense as she gazes right at him. "Leave them. Stay with me."

His mouth opens slightly. "I-I can't."

She leans back, stretching the gap between them. "Neither can I." Hurt, Percy settles further into his chair as well.

"But, Perce. You'll be in my heart. _Always._ You know that, right?" she asks.

"Of course," he replies, lying through his teeth. Yes, _she'll_ be in _his_ heart, but no matter what she says, he doesn't believe that she'll be able to keep him in her own.

Always.

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**Happy Ending—Mika**

Percy buries his head in his hands, sinking onto a small hummock of grass beside the lake. _This isn't how it was supposed to happen. _

Behind him, the castle is in ruins. Entire walls have been smashed to the ground; pains of glass lie broken around the rest of the carnage. But that's not what matters.

Beyond the entrance hall, in a small chamber to the right, lies a slight, golden haired woman. One side of her face is as innocent and trusting as ever.

The other half is gone, splattered across the flagstones from a Death Eater's curse. _That_ is what matters.

The knowledge of her loss has sapped the humanity he's just regained away, and with that the beacon of hope, the flower of love, and the blaze of glory that had accompanied the moment of the Dark Lord's fall. And as Percy imagines blood slowly draining from Penelope's prone body, he can feel himself draining away as well.

Wasted.

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**Best Days of Your Life—Kelly Pickler**

Percy watches Audrey waddle around their kitchen, belly rounding in front of her. He looks at her, and finds himself for the millionth time lengthening her hair. Lightening it; curling it. Making her face thinner; her limbs bonier; her body more slender.

Making her into Penelope.

He still wonders where the two of them would be now, if she were still alive and at last on his side. Married, with a nice little family? Instead, he's living out their dreams with someone new.

By now, he loves Audrey, and that's the truth. But there are terrible, traitorous moments when he looks at her beside him and wishes she was Penelope instead.

Yes, he loves Audrey—but the best days of his life were with Penelope.

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**A/N: Hope you guys liked! A few of my favorite songs are in this one, and I especially plug Mika, who's this British singer with an AMAZING first album :D (and of course, who could help but love _You'll Be in My Heart_?)**

**Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts!**


	6. Cho and Cedric

**_Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang_**

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**So She Dances—Josh Groban**

Cedric slips his arm around Cho's waist as she runs one hand through his hair; puts the other around his neck. He pulls her close until she can rest his head on his strong, warm chest; can feel his heartbeat through his robes. They sway to the music gently, a little awkward as he steps on her toe and her finger catches in his collar.

They've got the floor, and she's in his arms, and how could she ask for more?

So she dances.

-

"He's dead!" "How?" "The Potter boy?" "How could this happen?" "MY SON!" "No!" The cries erupt around her, from all sides of the maze, from all the stands; all the schools; all the houses. Cho is swept along with their tide, unable to feel, unable to recognize that _that's my Cedric there, my Cedric who's not moving and won't wake up_.

She can't feel when her friends comfort her, nor pay attention when Headmaster Dumbledore asks all the students to please return to their houses, nor cry when Professor Flitwick speaks to the Ravenclaws, confirms that Cedric Diggory is dead.

The next hours pass in a blur of _go away_ and _you didn't know him _and _I don't want to talk about it_ until at last the common room is deserted, silent and dark but for a strip of silvery moonlight. Cho steps to the window and lifts her hands up to the sky, moving to music that only she can hear; that she's sure somewhere, Cedric can hear too.

At last, the simple, sad, melody makes her cry.

So she dances.

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**Who Knew—P!nk**

"Cho!" Cedric catches her up in his arms. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that; I had no idea they'd use actual hostages in the lake."

Cho holds tight to Cedric, feeling the weave of his shirt and the scratch of his unshaven chin. "I don't remember a thing," she says lightly, pecking him on the lips. "But I'm glad you were there to save me."

He kisses her longer, fiercer. "I'll always be there to save you."

(If someone said, three years from not, he'd be long gone—they'd be all wrong.)

-

"Be my good luck charm?" he asks her the day before the third task.

Cho laughs and ducks her head and smiles, murmuring, "I'm sure you won't need one. You'll do fine on your own."

"Just in case?" Cedric's hand slips through her own, and she turns to him, happy and young and in love.

"Always."

(If someone said count your blessings now, just then she just didn't know how—she was all wrong.)

-

She takes her eyes from the maze for an instant. One instant, and then there's the _pop _of a Portkey; a hushed silence—and then, a prone figure in a loose, black robe is in the center of the maze, and everyone screams and cries as Cho stands in horror, a lone dark, unmoving center to everyone's anguish.

(Until they meet again, she won't forget him—what happened.)

* * *

**Have You Seen That Girl—LeeAnn Rimes**

She cries all the time now. For Cedric, for Harry. For herself, and everything she'd lost in her fifth year at Hogwarts.

Her friends worry about her; wonder why she rarely smiles anymore, why she never laughs—why she can't be happy. Why one death has changed her so irrevocably.

Sometimes, she worries too. Once she'd been innocent, confident, ready to take on the world. But now—that girl she used to be is buried along with Cedric, gone too soon. Now she's been burned, and will always have to shy from the flame.

She's gotten used to her new self, accepting it as her true self. But lying awake some nights, she wonders:

_Where along the way did I lose me?_

* * *

**Broken—Lifehouse**

One day. One week. One month. One year. Anniversaries flash by as Cho holds on as tight as she can, to memories of _last week he kissed me here_ and _a month ago he took me to Hogsmeade _and _last year we were at the Yule Ball_.

She falls apart still breathing, clutching with whitened knuckles to ordinary life that slips by her a little more each day, as each day she forgets Cedric a little more—and so, delves deeper to remember him. Clocks tick by seconds that rip her apart inside—_one more without him_—and the endless tomorrows steal all her time.

When a year is gone, she sobs and curses and screams and _remembers_. With his memory, she finds healing in a way that reality can't provide.

(She thought by now she'd by okay. But she's damaged at best, with a broken heart that keeps beating.)

(But by now it's getting hard to hold onto him anymore.)

* * *

**The Call—Regina Spektor**

Cho sees in slow motion. She spins back and forth on the Astronomy tower, firing curses that arch and plummet onto the battlefield below. Every Death Eater that falls, she wonders who they have already killed; whether they were the one who tortured Marietta, or locked up Luna, or who laughed when Cedric was murdered.

A nasty hex whizzes by her head, sending a breeze through her hair and exploding into a turret behind her, scattering shards of stone across her outlook. Ducking low, she peers through arrow slits and continues sending spells at the Death Eaters running across the grounds. She thinks of nothing; doesn't speak, but is stronger than ever, swifter than ever, and silentler than ever. By now the nasty jinxes are second nature, and she aims shoutsincantation flickswand re-aims in a deadly pattern.

And doesn't hear the muffled pounding of booted feet stomping up the stairs; doesn't realize the danger until the door flies open. She leaps to her feet and spins around, seeing in slow motion again; feeling her loose hair fly off her neck and every beat of her heart. Hearing every syllable of the Death Eater's instant curse.

"Im-ped-i-ment-a-a-a-a," and it seems to go on forever as she's propelled backwards off the Astronomy Tower, back scraping over the ledge, legs brushing the edge once, and then—open air.

Cho goes down unprepared, the world at last racing by at real speed, and as she falls, she wonders if Cedric felt like this.

* * *

**Did I say the songs in the last chapter were some of my favorites? Well, I lied! These are--hopefully you guys enjoyed them too. And, I'm aware how AU (or at least SU) I went for the end of this one: I know that JKR said in post-DH interviews that Cho survived and left the Wizarding world, then married a Muggle—but since reading Thanfiction's incredible Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness, the Cho that dies on the Astronomy Tower has become my canon.**

**In other news, I'm running out of ideas for pairings to do, and would love to take requests—I'll do any school day romances that ended up not working out (and by 'any', I mean either canon ones, like Ron/Lavender, or plausibly canon ones, like Hannah/Ernie. No Hermione/Draco or anything squicky like that—sorry!). Any era is fine, and, although I've never written it before, I'd be willing to try my hand at plausible slash. So I hope anyone who reads this will request something in a review/PM. Thanks! (And my apologies for writing an A/N as long as one of my drabbles!)**


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